Indian Macgyver Says

You can’t rush B. Mac’ either but that’s a different post. Suffice it to say, it’s like being stuck between a rock and a really annoying place. Now while you can’t rush genius, you definitely can follow it in a fit of road rage like madness.

So fill up the tank with those creative juices* and follow that SOG down every right turn, left turn, and u-turn imaginable. You could hit a few bumps along the way but you might be surprised where you end up, I was.

Awhile back I posted about making changes to my blog. I didn’t want much just, ya’know, the most awesomest blog ever. But I’d settle for a blog that’s easy to navigate and inviting. How hard could that be? (If you’ve ever redesigned your blog you’re probably laughing at my naiveté and if you haven’t redesigned your blog keep reading. You’ll start.)

If or when you start on this journey you’ll realize, despite all the advice available, there’s no one roadmap. Luckily, you aren’t starting from scratch. Look over old posts and old ideas and keep what resonates.

This is the easy, happy go-lucky, optimistic, “is everyone having fun,” part of all road trips. It lasts about as long as it takes to switch from reverse to drive. I hit the first bump in the road sooner that I expected, though it felt more like a roadblock if I’m honest.

Every bit of blogging advice out there says, pick a topic for your blog and focus on it. That’s solid advice. It gives you a frame to work in. Only it doesn’t work for everyone. If you’ve read my other blog before you know there’s no cohesive glue, no theme, no rhyme to my reason.

While I could invest money and time in psychoanalysis (arguably I might have spent less time in therapy then I did renovating the blog), I didn’t. Instead I did the next best thing — theme research. Tip #1 for roadblocks – detours.

Fast forward 6 months** I had my theme. To clarify I had my blog layout theme, not my this is what my blog’s about theme. For the curious, the theme I’m using is Goran by Automattic, primarily, because of its grid feature.

But detours are temporary solutions. I reread old posts, as if they were a map, looking for a direction, any connection or clue. I was like Hercule Poirot, Jessica Fletcher, or Richard Poole. But without Captain Hastings, Seth Hazlit, or uptight British sensibilities my next turn remained a mystery.

Sure I have B. Mac’ you might think, but she’s about as helpful as a lizard named Harry. She’s fun to have around but says bugger all.***

Staring at the old blog now was like being stuck at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. I could go left, right, or straight ahead and I’d still be nowhere. This was no roadblock. When you hit a roadblock you know there’s still something more ahead. I was lost.

This feels like a good stopping point. The trip’s not over but every good road trip needs a pit stop or two.

So stop on by IndianMacgyver.com. Get out, stretch your legs, and tell me what you think. Is it easy to navigate, does it make you want to stick and click around? Pit stops are great for sharing your road trip stories too.

Ω

*Oh and don’t worry about running low on creativity. It’s cheaper than gas and greener than electricity. Besides when you’re tailing genius you may not have to go far to get where you’re going, remember that. Genius is always within reach.

**I actually found my theme in 3 hrs. When I revisited the theme a few weeks later I says to myself, “This is the theme I picked?!”

Over the next two weeks I spent countless hours testing out any and all themes I could, only to end up right where I started. You don’t know you need to u-turn until you NEED a u-turn.

***To her credit B. Mac helped, eventually. I asked her to come up with a new gravatar for Indian Macgyver. You can’t have a new blog without a new gravatar, right. It’s just good blog shui. (She didn’t laugh either.)

She never created the gravatar. But she did help create the awesomest logo (ever?) for IndianMacgyver.com – which says a hellavu lot!

» Update

I’ve recently made changes to the blog and website not reflected in this post. So stay tuned for the twist and turns still left on this road trip.

As for the reason why, sometimes it pays to stop and ask directions (see the comments below for more)! You never know what you’ll learn.

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2 thoughts on “Indian Macgyver Says”

Hi IM, great to see you back with new ideas and blog. Yesterday I had access to it via chic prune using the mobile app on my Iphone. I couldn’t leave a message anywhere, although you said that it was possible.
Surprisingly, I can do it now. But I’m not using my Iphone.
You asked for comments on the blog.
First, I’m happy to see you again. But I would like to read what you have to say too. I know you’re busy wit that, so I’ll be patient.
Besides that, my very personal opinion is that we have to go through many clicks to figure out the different areas of the site and then there is a tag for the blog too. It wasn’t clear to me what’s the difference between dependability’ sexy blog and the IM blog either.
I’ve learnt the social media users’ attention span is minimal, and they mostly look for and stay at blogs that offer ease and speed.
If they have to go to layers and layers of pages, they lose interest.
I’m no specialist, so as you know, I just give my two cents.
If you don’t care about any of this, then don’t bother, I’ll come back anyways.
But write please.

well lucile your two cents goes along way with the exchange rates! first it’s great to hear from you. it makes getting this revamped blog up and running again so worthwhile. speaking of this blog (and landing page) much thanks for taking the time (and the trouble) to find it.

you have great observational skills, no doubt honed through the lens of your camera. it took me awhile to make some changes but i’ve added a few more links to help visitors get to the good stuff, i.e. the posts themselves. more changes will come as time permits.

as i said in my email to you, you’re comment also helped me polish off a post i had been stuck on. it’s not ready yet but it will be – thanks to you!